Health-care companies rose as traders rotated back into defensive sectors.
Shares of Big Pharma company Merck rose after analysts at brokerage Jefferies said clinical trial results indicated its Keytruda drug produced better outcomes than rival products in lung-cancer patients.
The seven-day average of newly reported Covid-19 infections in the U.S. is on track to triple the pre-Omicron record set a year ago, when America saw a quarter million daily cases, as concerns grow over access to and reliability of testing both in the U.S. and Europe, where the highly transmissible Omicron variant has also taken root.
Marijuana producer Tilray rallied after it posted quarterly profit ahead of Wall Street targets.
Almost 14 million people have signed up for health-insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act's open-enrollment period ending Saturday, an increase driven by a robust outreach campaign and broader consumer subsidies.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-10-22 1631ET
